Pallone and Walden on Facebook’s Data-Sharing Partnerships with Chinese Companies

Washington, D.C. – Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) and Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) issued the following statement on Facebook allowing Chinese technology companies access to data of users and users' friends without explicit consent:

"At our hearing with CEO Mark Zuckerberg, bipartisan members of the committee asked direct questions about Facebook sharing personal data with third-parties. Clearly, the company's partnerships with Chinese technology companies and others should have been disclosed before Congress and the American people. The spirit of our questions about third-party access to user data should not have required technical knowledge of the legal agreements Facebook has with device manufacturers to get clear answers for the public. As the committee continues to examine these issues closely with the ongoing audit of Facebook data practices, and awaits response to our written questions from the hearing, we strongly encourage full transparency from Facebook and the entire tech community."

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